This is rare: a quick ‘n’ easy review of a single wine, divorced from my rants on coffee or family reminiscences or comparisons to women.
I went down to Chronicle Wine Cellar on the corner of California and Lake. (I have a Yelp review of this place here.) I love Chronicle Wine Cellar because it’s so small and unpretentious–it’s on the bottom floor of a rundown apartment building, for God’s sake! They also offer a very good selection of wines at dirt-cheap prices.
I spent all of $22.47 on three wines: the one I am drinking now is the “Sedna” malbec from Flavio Senetiner.
It’s a malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina, named after the furthest planet in our solar system.
I had selected a sparkling wine (for the ladies) and a rosé (because of the heat) and wanted to get a smooth-drinking, easy red to round out my trio. It was either between a shiraz from Australia or this malbec. Both were at the crazy price of $5.95.
I selected the malbec for the maybe fallacious reason that Argentina wines are generally cheaper as a whole than Australian wines–thus, I had more of a chance of finding a decent, cheap Argentinean wine than a decent, cheap Australian wine.
The verdict?
Great nose: smells spicy and red. Doesn’t really taste like any other malbec I’ve ever had. In fact, it reminds me more of a Languedoc wine–something like l’Esprit du Silene with its blend of syrah, grenache, and cinsault–because it seems rustic and earthy. I can taste the garrigue in this wine, with leather and spice and a slight taste of persimmon.
Granted, there ARE malbec characteristics of cherry and berries–it seemed a bit rounder and softer than anything from the Languedoc, too.
From the Chronicle Wine Cellar website: “Here is our choice for your fruit driven lighter red. Smooth and easy drinking with some lovely Malbec qualities. David likes it with a bit of a chill , easy to enjoy no matter how you want to serve it. From Mendoza, Argentina.”
Overall, a great choice and a steal for $5.95. I will update this post after pairing the wine with tonight’s dinner: marinated kalbi, or Korean barbeque.
Vinicultured: A Wine Blog 
Who is the importer for Sedna and any other wines from Flavio Senetiner?
Thanks
Hey Sean–unfortunately, I don’t happen to have the importer off hand. But, if you contact Chronicle Wine Cellar (www.cwcellar.com) I’m sure they’ll have that information.
hey,well i have this senda,malbec,2006,im currious how it tastes!..im scared ive never triend wine before,im 21 but still a little new to this age!!..hope to hear more about this wine and tips on how to use it and serve it!1thnkx
Hey Monica & Jesse!
Thanks for the comment. The Sedna Malbec is a fantastic value and a great introduction to drinking wine copiously. =) I would drink this with a bit of a chill on it–it’s lighter, especially compared to most other Malbecs, so it’s good as a summer wine. It would go well with barbecue, hamburgers, or pork tenderloin.